Telephone cabinet



p 1932- F. MASTRANGELO ET AL 1,877,470

TELEPHONE CABINET Filed March 26, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 gwuantozs Mqsfran elo v 17- fiafsira'rl elo Patented Sept. 13, 1932 ,UNITED STATES PArs Tff-b sj@3 FRANK MASTRANGELO AND ALPnonso MASTRANGELO, ori'nrronBURGg MASSACHUSETTS Y a TELEPHONE CAB NET Application filed March 26,1931; Serial No. 525,542. r 1 j I i This invention relates to cabinets such as cabinets designed for holding a telephone and the general object is to provide a cabinet of this character which is provided with a slide forming the bottom of a compartment and provide a roll top door for this compartment which, when the slide is pulled out, automatically lifts, and whichwhen the slide is pushed in, automatically lowers.

A further object is to provide a cabinet of this character which may be built in a wall or form part of a piece of furniture.

Other objects will appear in the course of s the following description. Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a fro'nt elevation of the cabinet;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1; i. V

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 1 but showing the cabinet closed;

Figure 4 is a section on the same line as Figure 3 but showing the cabinet open.

, Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the base frame of the cabinet and 11 the side walls projecting from this base frame extending down from a point near the top of this frame 10 nearly to the bottom thereof. 12 designates side walls which extend rear ward of the frame 10, there being a back 13 and upper and lower walls 14:. The bottom of the front of the cabinetis formed by the wall 15.

Sliding in grooves 16 is a slide or shelf 17 having a recess 18 upon which the base of the telephone is adapted to rest. Hinged to the bottom 15 is a door 19, this door being hinged at 20 and having pivotally connected to it the rearwardly and upwardly extending 0 slotted braces 21 through which the screws 22 pass, these braces acting to support the door 19 when it is lowered. The cover or compartment formed beneath the sliding A shelf 17 is adapted to hold telephone books or the like.

Extending upward and rearward in a curve is a recess or groove 23 cut into each end wall 11. Each recess extends upward and rearward and then extends downward and rearward as at 24 also in a curve, this portion 24 of the recess extending downward and terminating at a point rearward of the grooves"16. Disposed within-these grooves 23 and 24 is a rolltop designated generally 25 This roll top-is composed asusual ofrelatively'small sections 26 glued or otherwise attached to a fabric or flexiblebacking 27. For the purposeof automatically operating this roll'top when the slide 17 is pulled out or pushed in, I provide levers 28 mounted on each end wall of the cabinet, each lever being in the form of a bell crankpivoted at 29 and each lever at its lower end being-connected by a link 30 to a bracket 31 attached to the upper face of the slide 17 When the slide 17 is pushed home, the lever-'28 will.

swingtupward and carry theroll top down ward in the grooves 23 until, when the slide isfully pushed home, the roll top will close against'the upper face of the slide, leaving a small portion of the slide projecting which constitutes a handle whereby the slide may beshifted, theslide being preferably formed so as to provide finger holding means thereon. When the slideis pulled outward, a reverse action takes place, the levers swinging downward and rearward to carry "the roll top downward and inward and'into the grooved portion 2 1. Thus it will be seen that whenever it is desired to use the telephone, it is only necessary to pull outward on the slide 17 whereupon the "roll-top will raise and permit the telephone to be pulled" out' of the cabinet and when the slide is-shifted inward carrying the telephone with it, the roll'top will close. A more-or less ornamental cornice 32-is disposed just above the uppermostportions-of the slots; 23 with which the roll top 25 closelyapproximates-so that the telephone is entirely housedand'protected so when the roll top is closed. 7 V Y It will beseen that a device of this kind is very simple and convenient, that it entirely protects the telephone when not in use, and 4 that the cabinet can form a very ornamental 05 part of-a room or office. Furthermore, the roll top may be easily locked so as to'prevent anyone fromhaving unauthorizedaccess tothe telephone. It will be seen that" this H device entails no extra Work onthe user.

He does not have to open the door of the cabi- 7 net and then withdraw the telephone,'but

' he simply pulls the shelf 17 toward him which with special reference to a wall cabinet which is particularly adapted to contain a telephone and be used as a telephone cablnet, we do not wish torbe limited to this use nor do we wish to be limited to the particular form of the cabinet as shown. The .cabinet as illustratedis a wall cabinet to be built'into a'wall but the cabinet may form equally well a part of a piece of furniture,

as'for'instance, a desk or book case orgthe their rear ends pivotally connected to the rear end of the roll top, the forward ends of the bell crank levers having linked connectionto the shelf whereby as the shelf is pulled outward, the roll top will be shifted upward and then'downward into the rear portions of the grooves and as the shelf is pulled inward the roll top will be shiftedlupward and then downward into the forward portions of said'groovesand close against the shelf. r u p In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures.

FRANK'MASTRANGELO. ALPHONSO MASTRANGELO.

like and the cabinet is applicable for other 7 uses than asa receptacle for a telephone.

We claim V r 1'. A cabinet including a compartment having side walls, a back and top, a shelf slidingly mounted between theside walls, the side walls each having a groove extending upward and rearward and then downward, a roll top 7 having its ends disposed in said grooves, bell crank levers mounted upon the. side walls of the compartment, eachhaving an arm extending rearwardly and connected to one end of the roll top and having an arm extending downward and operatively connected to the shelf.

2.- A cabinet including a compartment having side walls a back and top, a shelf slidin-gly mounted between the side walls, the side walls each having a groove extending upward and rearward and then downward, a roll top-having its ends disposed in said grooves, bell crank levers mounted upon the side Walls of the compartment,'each having an arm 'extendlng rearwardly and connected .to'one end of the roll top and having an arm extending downward, and 7 links pivotally connected to the lower .ends of the last namedarms and'to said shelf.

3. A 'cabinet'of the character described,

comprising a supporting frame, a compartment mounted within said frame and having y side walls, a top wall, a rear-wall and a bottom wall, the side Wallsbeing horizontally grooved, a sliding shelf" mounted in said,

grooves and disposed between the top wall of the compartment and the bottom wall there of and constituting a support for an article, the side walls ofthe compartment above said shelf being formed each with a groove, the groove extending upwardly and rearwardly andthen downwardly and rearwardly, a roll tophaving itsends disposed in said grooves,

oppositely disposed bell crank levers pivotally mounted upon the side wallsand having 

